Preaching to the choir. I haven’t bought a new car in 15 years, and I never will again. I look for a 4 or 5 year old car with 45-50000 miles on it, preferably a Toyota (although the last one was a Lincoln Navigator for my wife and turned out to be one of the best cars I ever bought.)
A coworker once told me about an uncle who lived in New York City. At that time he wouldn’t pay more than $100 for a car. Yep, it was a long time ago. the man would do absolutely nothing as far a repair. When the car died, he left it where it died. And bought another for $100.
The last new car I bought was in 92. Since then I’ve looked for higher mileage vehicles with specific engines. The last vehicle I bought was a 1987 pickup with about 95,000. Before that it was a 1991 SUV with the same engine and about 140,000 miles. I stay away from anything with elaborate electronics that came later.